Sous Vide Cooker

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Anyone have one...or ever tried one? I got one for Christmas, and we've made two meals with it.

 

I'm hooked.

 

[Run To State]

Pretty sure @swamprat has one.

[JDEaston]

I've never used one but I hear they are excellent. I like most meats seared so for one to work for me I'd probably do a reverse sear on steaks, chicken, pork chops whether it be on a hot charcoal grill or pan seared.

 

I have been interested in them for a while though, just never pulled the trigger. My better half manages a large restaurant though and they just recently remodeled their kitchen and added sous vide stations in the process. It has worked out well for them, I can tell a noticable difference in their steaks since they started going with the sous vide/reverse sear method. They're cooked perfect every time and still have good flavor due to the marinade and reverse sear to finish them off.

[swamprat]

I've never used one but I hear they are excellent. I like most meats seared so for one to work for me I'd probably do a reverse sear on steaks, chicken, pork chops whether it be on a hot charcoal grill or pan seared.

 

I have been interested in them for a while though, just never pulled the trigger. My better half manages a large restaurant though and they just recently remodeled their kitchen and added sous vide stations in the process. It has worked out well for them, I can tell a noticable difference in their steaks since they started going with the sous vide/reverse sear method. They're cooked perfect every time and still have good flavor due to the marinade and reverse sear to finish them off.

 

I could not eat the meat if it is not seared after the sous vide. I do it either with an iron skillet or on the grill. Both come out fantastic, but I prefer the pan sear to grill sear.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

I could not eat the meat if it is not seared after the sous vide. I do it either with an iron skillet or on the grill. Both come out fantastic, but I prefer the pan sear to grill sear.

 

I slathered a couple of chicken breasts in pesto and tried those last night. I cut off about a half of one of them after going through the sous vide and before I seared them and my wife and I tried it without the sear...it was basically a perfect poached chicken breast. Admittedly, I liked it better with the sear on it, but I could have been totally content eating the whole piece of chicken without searing.

 

I didn't try the skirt steak without the sear, but I don't think I would have liked it if I had. I think beef and pork would both pretty definitely need it.

[JDEaston]

I could not eat the meat if it is not seared after the sous vide. I do it either with an iron skillet or on the grill. Both come out fantastic, but I prefer the pan sear to grill sear.

 

Thanks, I may look into getting one. Typically I like grilled food best, something about the charcoal flavor. But some of the best steaks I've ever made were about 2" thick, slow cooked until they were rare, indirect, over charcoal then pan seared in cast iron. I imagine sous vide would work out better pan seared than the grill since the charcoal flavor wouldn't transfer over at that point anyway.

 

I'll keep an eye on this thread because I have been interested in sous vide for a while now. Not that I need another cooker, but at least these dont take up much space.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Haha, and for anyone reading the thread and scratching your head completely about what "sous vide" is, it's pronounced "soo veed". It's French for "under vacuum".

 

Basically, you vacuum-seal food in a bag (or you can use water displacement and a plastic zip-top bag to "vaccuum-seal" the meat), then you cook it to a super-precise temperature in a water bath. The sous vide machine is a heated water circulating device that takes care of the cooking. Then you quickly reverse sear the meat in a screaming hot skillet before you serve it.

[JDEaston]

Haha, and for anyone reading the thread and scratching your head completely about what "sous vide" is, it's pronounced "soo veed". It's French for "under vacuum".

 

Basically, you vacuum-seal food in a bag (or you can use water displacement and a plastic zip-top bag to "vaccuum-seal" the meat), then you cook it to a super-precise temperature in a water bath. The sous vide machine is a heated water circulating device that takes care of the cooking. Then you quickly reverse sear the meat in a screaming hot skillet before you serve it.

 

That's how I would do it. But a lot of the people that buy it for the "healthy" aspect won't do the reverse sear due to oil/butter being involved. They just season and put it in the bath.

 

That wouldn't work for me, for most things, but I get it. You'll still get a super tender piece of meat that's cooked in a healthy way. I suppose you could brine some chicken breast or may be able to make it work with marinated pork without needing the reverse sear though. Put me in the camp that would cook all of it to rare then sear it to get the crust and a medium rare though hah.

[mcpapa]

Haha, and for anyone reading the thread and scratching your head completely about what "sous vide" is, it's pronounced "soo veed". It's French for "under vacuum".

 

Basically, you vacuum-seal food in a bag (or you can use water displacement and a plastic zip-top bag to "vaccuum-seal" the meat), then you cook it to a super-precise temperature in a water bath. The sous vide machine is a heated water circulating device that takes care of the cooking. Then you quickly reverse sear the meat in a screaming hot skillet before you serve it.

 

Thanks for the public service. I've got guys like Parker and Can'tcoach asking me what the heck is a souse vyde.

[swamprat]

Haha, and for anyone reading the thread and scratching your head completely about what "sous vide" is, it's pronounced "soo veed". It's French for "under vacuum".

 

Basically, you vacuum-seal food in a bag (or you can use water displacement and a plastic zip-top bag to "vaccuum-seal" the meat), then you cook it to a super-precise temperature in a water bath. The sous vide machine is a heated water circulating device that takes care of the cooking. Then you quickly reverse sear the meat in a screaming hot skillet before you serve it.

 

I already possessed a food saver vacuum seal system. Uses the same bags.

[MBWC41]

I’ve had an Anova for 4 or 5 years.

 

I love it, it’s the only way I cook steak these days....

 

It also makes fried chicken insanely easy.

[MBWC41]

I’ve done ribs in mine that turned out great.

 

I’ve yet to try one of the 3 or 4 day cooked briskets.

 

It’s absolutely amazing how tender it can make a less desirable piece of meat. Sous Vide is the only way to cook flank or skirt steak.

[mcpapa]

I’ve had an Anova for 4 or 5 years.

 

I love it, it’s the only way I cook steak these days....

 

It also makes fried chicken insanely easy.

Well, now I’m confused. Having a bit of background in elementary statistics, I thought anova was short for analysis of variance.

[coldweatherfan]

Been doing sous vide for about 5 years now.

 

These guys are my favorite.

 

[swamprat]

I’ve done ribs in mine that turned out great.

 

I’ve yet to try one of the 3 or 4 day cooked briskets.

 

It’s absolutely amazing how tender it can make a less desirable piece of meat. Sous Vide is the only way to cook flank or skirt steak.

 

Round steak is still round steak, though.